Market Basket Reveals Broad Trade-Up

Spring retail prices on bedding and bath products climbed at both the opening price point and top price point levels in this year's Market Basket survey.

Home Textiles Today's fifth annual review showed that Target, Kohl's and Wal-Mart had all hiked prices by more than 20% in the entry-level tier of their assortments. Six of the nine retailers in the survey raised their opening price point market baskets.

In the high-end baskets, Target and Kohl's were the boldest chains in testing top-price goods:

Target up 32.2%

Kohl's up 20.7%.

Target managed to eclipse all other top-price-pushing chains even though its highest item price was the same as last year: $149.99 on a queen quilt. Kohl's offered the single highest-priced item in the survey: a Laura Ashley Lifestyles branded queen bed-in-a-bag at $269.99.

Other retailers generally held the line on more expensive merchandise, with the top price market basket change at four chains — Kmart, JCPenney, Marshalls and Wal-Mart — ranging between 10% up and 10% down, year to year.

The top-tier basket dropped in price only at these three chains:

Linens 'n Things down 13.6%

Sears down 17.9%

Bed Bath & Beyond down 24.4%.

Two of these retailers have struggled with merchandising focus relative to their competitors; they also were the most aggressive in slashing tags for opening price goods:

Sears down 7.8%

Linens 'n Things down 2.3%.

It should be noted that unlike the other stores, the market basket at Sears was impacted by ongoing sales events during the period of the survey, which means the average everyday prices for some Sears items could be expected to register somewhat higher than shown.

The spectrum of retailer price offerings, measured as the difference between highest and lowest priced items, was broadest at these three chains:

Kohl's, $266.00

Bed Bath & Beyond, $247.00

JCPenney, $243.01

and most compact at these three:

Marshalls, $57.00

Wal-Mart, $85.16

Kmart, $113.00.

This latter result would indicate that Wal-Mart has plenty of room to test its plans to trade up in soft lines departments.

While price deflation has dogged the home textiles industry in recent years, this year's Market Basket report gives some indication that prices are truly on the upswing — regardless of country of manufacture. Interestingly, the proportion of goods made outside the United States has increased substantially this year, even as the merchants press their upper limits on prices.

China surpassed the U.S. last year as the leading source of items in the survey; it is now becoming predominant.

In the 2005 Market Basket survey, the percentage of total basket items that originated in the U.S. ranged from 17% at Target to 53% at Kmart. This year, domestic sourcing ranges from just 3% at Target to 38% at Kmart.

At only a single retailer — Wal-Mart — did the share of market basket items produced in the U.S. increase over last year; the rise was from 25% to 31%.

The biggest drops in “Made in the USA” goods were seen at these two chains:

Sears, from 47% to 23%

Linens 'n Things, from 25% to 5%.

Among those producers based in the U.S., Springs continued its clear lead among the suppliers with the most items visible in the market baskets. Counting the opening and top price items together, Springs had 36 such products, nearly three times as many as its nearest rival, WestPoint Home, with 13 items. For recently troubled WestPoint, this was only about half the items it had totaled in last year's survey.

For the annual Market Basket reports, HTT assembles a list of basic bed and bath items, then visits one store from each of nine of the top 10 home textiles retailers to find the lowest priced item and the highest priced item for each product on the shopping list. The No.10 retailer on HTT's Top 50 Retailers ranking — Pottery Barn — was not included in the survey because its in-store assortment of bedding and bath products is too slight to make valid comparisons.

As in previous years, the market basket contains only items marked at everyday prices; sale and clearance goods are not added to the cart in order to establish a base line for EDLP.

HTT's editors were unable to complete their shopping lists at several stores due to those retailers not offering any products in certain categories on the day they were visited. And in the case of Sears, multiple visits to the same store compelled a survey of the prices as posted; for various categories a sales event was in effect and the non-sale price could not be determined. Our decision to use the prices that were available is based on the priority to include this leading home textiles retailer in the Market Basket report.

While the market baskets are not representative of each chain's “average market basket,” they do represent what a customer who shopped these stores in these markets — during the period between February 15 and February 27 — would have found if she were looking for either the least expensive goods or the presumed top-of-the-line products.

Bed Bath & Beyond

* Two individually packed shams at $19.99 each ** Two individually packed shams at $34.99 each.

Opening Price Point

Bedding

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Queen sheet set

$29.99

Niki Intl.

Cotton

Pakistan

Queen bed-in-a-bag

79.99

Springs

Cotton/Poly

USA

Pair of standard shams*

39.98

Divatex

Cotton

India

Dust ruffle

N/A

Queen quilt

99.99

Britannica; Keeco; CHF Amer. Pacific; Corona

Cotton

China

Queen blanket

24.99

Berkshire Blanket

Poly

China

Throw

14.99

CHF Industries

Poly

China

Total retail

$289.93

+13.7% from $254.93 in 2005.

Bath

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Bath sheet

$15.99

Springs

Cotton

USA

Bath towel

4.99

Revere Mills

Cotton

Pakistan

Hand towel

3.99

Revere Mills

Cotton

Pakistan

Wash cloth

2.99

Revere Mills

Cotton

Pakistan

Shower curtain

9.99

Shelly's Design

Vinyl

China

Bath rug

9.99

Trade Am

Cotton/Viscose

India

Soap dish

3.99

Umbra

Plastic

China

Lotion pump

10.99

Umbra

Plastic

China

Tissue box

14.99

Umbra

Plastic

China

Total retail

$77.91

+11.4% from $69.91 in 2005.

TOTAL MARKET BASKET

$367.84

+13.2% from $324.84 in 2005

Top Price Point

Bedding

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Queen sheet set

$199.99

Springs

Cotton

China/Thailand

Queen bed-in-a-bag

99.99

WestPoint Home

Cotton/Poly

USA

Pair of standard shams**

69.98

Springs

Cotton

USA/Mexico/Pakistan

Dust ruffle

N/A

Queen quilt

249.99

Shades of India

Silk/Cotton/Viscose/Nylon

India

Queen blanket

149.99

Berkshire Blankets

Silk/Poly

China

Throw

53.99

Mohawk Home

Rayon/Poly/Cotton

China

Total retail

$823.93

-30.1% from $1,189.95 in 2005.

Bath

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Bath sheet

$79.99

N/A

Cotton

N/A

Bath towel

39.99

N/A

Cotton

N/A

Hand towel

19.99

N/A

Cotton

N/A

Wash cloth

12.99

N/A

Cotton

N/A

Shower curtain

79.99

Revman Intl.

Poly

China

Bath rug

49.99

N/A

Cotton

Portugal

Soap dish

16.99

Veratex

Marble

China

Lotion pump

24.99

Veratex

Marble

China

Tissue box

49.99

Veratex

Marble

China

Total retail

$374.91

-5.5% from $396.93 in 2005.

Total market basket

$1,198.84

-24.4% from $1,586.88 in 2005.

JCPenney

* Two individually packed shams at $20.99 each ** Two individually packed shams at $70.00 each.

Opening Price Point

Bedding

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Queen sheet set

$29.99

Royale

Cotton/Poly

USA

Queen bed ensemble

159.99

Dan River

Cotton/Poly

Pakistan

Standard sham*

41.98

NA

Cotton/Poly

USA

Queen bedskirt

44.99

NA

Poly/Cotton

USA

Queen quilt

79.99

NA

Poly/Cotton

China

Queen blanket

34.99

NA

Cotton; Acrylica

China; USA

Throw

19.99

NA

Poly

China

Total retail

$411.92

0.0% from $412.94 in 2005.

Bath

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Bath sheet

NA

Bath towel

12.99

JCPenney

Cotton

Mexico

Hand towel

8.99

JCPenney

Cotton

Mexico

Wash cloth

6.99

JCPenney

Cotton

Mexico

Shower curtain

19.99

NA

Vinyl

China

Bath rug

19.99

Mohawk Rug

Cotton

India

Soap dish

7.99

NA

Acrylic

China

Lotion dispenser

10.99

NA

Acrylic

China

Tissue box

9.99

NA

Acrylic

China

Total retail

$97.92

+6.5% from $91.92 in 2005.

TOTAL MARKET BASKET

$509.84

+1.0% from $504.86 in 2005

Top Price Point

Bedding

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Queen sheet set

140.00

NA

Cotton

China

Queen bed ensemble

250.00

Extreme Linen

Standard sham**

140.00

Croscill Classics

Poly/Cotton

China

Dust ruffle

60.00

Richloom

Poly/Cotton

Pakistan

Queen quilt

160.00

Sunham

Cotton

China

Queen blanket

119.99

NA

Poly Microfiber

China

Throw

49.99

NA

Poly Microchenile

China

Total retail

$919.98

-2.1% from $939.99 in 2005.

Bath

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Bath sheet

32.00

JCPenney

Cotton

India

Bath towel

20.00

NA

Cotton

India

Hand towel

16.00

NA

Cotton

India

Wash cloth

12.00

NA

Cotton

India

Shower curtain

59.99

Croscill

Rayon/Poly

China

Bath rug

43.00

NA

Nylon

USA

Soap dish

19.99

PEM America

Faux Leather

China

Lotion dispenser

24.99

PEM America; Croscill

Faux Leather

China

Tissue box

39.99

India Ink; Croscill

China

Total retail

$267.96

+22.9% from $217.95 in 2005.

Total market basket

$1,187.94

+2.6% from $1,1157.95 in 2005.

Kmart

* Two individually packed shams at $14.99 each ** Two individually packed shams at $22.99 each.

Opening Price Point

Bedding

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Queen sheet set

$34.99

NA

Cotton Flannel

Pakistan

Queen bed-in-a-bag

57.99

Dan River

Poly/Cotton

Mexico

Pair of standard shams*

29.98

WestPoint Home

Cotton/Poly

USA

Dust ruffle

28.99

Dan River

Cotton/Poly

USA

Queen quilt

59.99

Jia Li

Ramie/Cotton

China

Queen blanket

10.49

Springs

Cotton

USA

Throw

12.99

Biderlack

Acrylic/Poly

USA

Total retail

$235.42

-0.4% from $236.42 in 2005.

Bath

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Bath sheet

$11.49

WestPoint Home

Cotton

USA

Bath towel

2.99

Springs

Cotton

Brazil

Hand towel

2.49

Springs

Cotton

Brazil

Wash cloth

1.99

Springs

Cotton

Brazil

Shower curtain

4.99

NA

Vinyl

China

Bath rug

10.49

Springs

Nylon

USA

Soap dish

5.79

Allure Home

Ceramic

China

Lotion pump

5.79

Allure Home

Ceramic

China

Tissue box

17.79

Allure Home

Metal

Taiwan

Total retail

$63.81

-5.0% from $67.20 in 2005.

TOTAL MARKET BASKET

$299.23

-1.4% from $303.62 in 2005

Top Price Point

Bedding

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Queen sheet set

$51.99

Dan River

Cotton/Poly

USA

Queen bed-in-a-bag

114.99

Springs

Cotton/Poly

China

Pair of standard shams**

45.98

Jia Li

Ramie/Cotton

China

Dust ruffle

34.99

Springs

Cotton

China

Queen quilt

68.99

Jia Li

Ramie/Cotton

China

Queen blanket

79.99

Biddeford

Acrylic

China

Throw

19.99

Biederlack

Acrylic

USA

Total retail

$416.92

+12.7% from $369.92 in 2005.

Bath

Price

Manufacturer

Construction

Country

Bath sheet

$11.99

WestPoint Home

Cotton

Turkey

Bath towel

11.49

Springs

Cotton

USA

Hand towel

9.49

Springs

Cotton

USA

Wash cloth

6.99

Springs

Cotton

USA

Shower curtain

29.99

NA

Poly

Taiwan

Bath rug

28.99

Maples

Cotton

USA

Soap dish

9.49

Springs

Ceramic

China

Lotion pump

17.99

Allure Home

Metal

India

Tissue box

17.79

Allure Home

Metal

Taiwan

Total retail

$144.21

+1.3% from $142.41 in 2005.

Total market basket

$561.30

+9.6% from $512.33 in 2005.

Kohl's

* Two individually packed shams at $34.99 each; $21.50 each. ** Only one price point available in this category.

CURRENT ISSUE

See the September 2017 issue of Home & Textiles Today. In this issue, we look at the Attack of the Killer Third Tier: Monster off-pricers are climbing to the top of the food chain, plus New Products: 40 pages of new products debuting at the New York Home Fashions Market; Home Stores: TJX unveils first U.S. HomeSense store; Clicks to Bricks: Boll & Branch moves from digital to physical retailing; and much more...See details!